Don't Stop Me Now (I'm Having a Good Time)
by RocketRaccoon15
Summary: The Guardians decide to take a small break and relax on a tourist planet. However, things aren't quite so relaxing when they arrive... (Rated T for innuendo and language)


**A/N:** This story is set to be in between the chapters 'Fox on the Run' and 'Soon Comes Mr. Night Creepin' Over' of my story _Rockin' Robin_. If you haven't read it, some parts may confuse you. However, it's pretty much it's own story. Enjoy!

* * *

It was a small, but beautiful tourist planet. Various shades of pink and yellow shone down on the lime green grass. Tall timber occupied most of the planet; they looked like the sycamore trees that Peter grew up climbing. The only difference was the trunks were white as snow, but the leaves were still as green as the grass that surrounded them. Different species of beautiful flowers and shrubbery colorfully decorated the rest of the planet and a large pool of deep blue water that sat close to the only town on the planet.

The Guardians' signature blue and orange M-Ship landed on a patch of gravel and dirt inside of the town. The ramp opened, revealing all five Guardians and the young girl that had wrapped herself around all of their fingers. They exited the ramp, closing it behind them and entered the town; Maia sitting on Peter's shoulders, Gamora walking beside Peter, Rocket and Drax following behind and Groot standing on Rocket's shoulder. It was a fairly small town, populated by a little over a hundred people; it was on a tourist planet, after all. It was filled with various gift shops, hotels and restaurants.

Rocket studied the environment with a large scowl on his face. He let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. Peter glanced back at him. "What's your deal, dude?" He asked the furry creature behind him.

The raccoon crossed his arms. "My deal is-WHY THE HELL ARE WE HERE?!" The tourists surrounding them gained his attention as they all quickly glanced their way. After a moment of awkward silence, the tourists continued what they were doing. "I mean seriously-" He started out a little quieter, still glowering. "We should be going to Sovereign right now! Why the hell are we on this planet?!"

"Jannah is a tourist planet. We're here to chill for a bit before heading to Sovereign. The high priestess never gave us a specific time to get to Sovereign." Peter explained as they continued to walk.

Gamora raised an eyebrow. "I thought she said as soon as possible."

Their leader stopped in front of a tall, rectangular building. It was just as beautiful as the rest of the planet. It was covered in various shades of blue. Large windows scattered evenly throughout the entire building and an automatic door for an entrance. A black awning, the shape the old mailbox Peter used to have in front of his house in Missouri, created a shaded walkway to the door.

They stepped to the side, allowing people to pass them if need be. Peter lifted Maia off of his shoulders and placed her on the concrete platform. She jumped multiple times and giggled, taking in the sights from the planet. Groot hopped off of Rocket's shoulder and chased Maia around the awning.

Peter looked at the rest of his crew and took a deep breath. "I know, but Jannah was on our way and we need a day to just chill. I mean think about everything we've gone through in the past month, let alone the past week: Maia. Friah. The bombing." Gamora and Drax nodded in agreement, while Rocket rolled his eyes again. "It's just for a day. All of us-" He glanced over at Groot and Maia who were still chasing each other around the awning. "Most of us are stressed out as it is."

"I agree. A short break does sounds pleasant." Drax said, slapping his large hand against Peter's shoulder and gripping it tightly. The man flinched in his grasp, but gave him a lopsided smile.

Gamora sighed and stared at the ground, crossing her arms over her chest. "We _do_ need a break, Peter, but we agreed to meet the Sovereign as soon as we could. We can't just randomly decide to stop at a planet and relax."

"I agree with Gamora on this one, Quill." Rocket said, occasionally glancing at Groot and Maia to make sure nothing happens to them.

Peter was now the one to roll his eyes. "Why do you even get a say in this? The only reason why you want to go to Sovereign is to get the bounty the Nova Corps put on Nebula!"

"That's not true!" Rocket countered. Gamora, Drax and Peter looked at him, not believing a word he said. "Okay, maybe it's a little true."

Peter shook his head. "Listen, we're already here. Why not make the best of it? I'll get rooms. Rocket. Drax. There's a small bar not too far from here. Me, Gamora, Groot and Maia can walk around town. We'll restock the ship. There's also a pond not too far from here. See, there's something for everyone to do."

"Why the hell do we need to rent rooms? We got a ship that's perfectly fine!"

"Because, Rocket, it gets cramped in there sometimes." Peter said, starting to get annoyed.

The raccoon rolled his eyes again and tapped Drax's leg. "Come on, let's just go." Drax exchanged one more look with Gamora and Peter before following the raccoon to the path of the bar.

* * *

The inside of the hotel was just as beautiful as the outside. Although the walls were a plain shade of white and the floor was made of grey marble tiles, beautiful exotic plants occupied most of the empty space in the lobby. Peter and Gamora walked through the automatic sliding door and headed towards the large, circular front desk that sat in the middle of the room. Maia followed closely behind with a infantilized tree sitting on her shoulder.

Four identical looking Krylorian women sat behind the desk. Each woman had a different sign above them: _Lost Items, Customer Service, Room Service and Register_. The trio walked up to the woman who was under the _Register_ sign. She looked up at them with yellow eyes. A large, broad smile crept upon her face. She made an impression that she was a very bubbly and friendly person. "Hello!" She exclaimed. She looked down farther and saw Maia peeking out shyly from behind Gamora's leg. "Your daughter is absolutely gorgeous. How long have you been married?" She gasped excitedly. "Or is this your honeymoon?!"

Both Gamora and Peter looked at each other with wide eyes. They looked down at Maia who was quietly chortling. One of the woman turned towards the employee who was assisting them. "Letia! What did I say about being too friendly?!" The woman scolded.

"Sorry!" Letia exclaimed as she turned back to the trio. Her cheeks were slightly pinker than they were when they had first entered.

"We're not married-" Peter and Gamora said at the same time. They glanced at each other and looked away slightly embarrassed.

Letia let out a small 'o' and an apology that was barely audible. "Well, how may I help you?"

"A five room suite, please." Gamora replied, trying her hardest not to make eye contact with Peter.

The pink woman pressed a few buttons on the holographic screen in front of her and bit the bottom of her lip. She looked up at Gamora, tapping her fingers on the top of the desk. "Um, I'm sorry, but we only have four room suites available. The master bedroom has a king size bed and a couch and the other three have queen sized beds. Would that be alright?"

Gamora sighed and nodded. "Yes, thank you."

After answering all of the necessary questions and transferring the units over, Letia gave the emerald woman four room keys. Gamora thanked her and pulled out her new handheld transmitter. She called Rocket to inform him that they had just finished at the hotel and were heading out.

* * *

 _ **Four Hours Later...**_

Peter, Gamora, Maia and Groot returned to the hotel by dusk. They walked around for hours, buying stuff to restock the Milano. They even found Maia a beautiful floral, high-waisted, spaghetti strap dress and Groot some healthier fertilizer. They had fun, just the four of them. Peter even found a restaurant that served food from different planets, including Earth.

It felt like decades since Peter had last eaten a Terran meal, especially a burger. It tasted just as appetizing as he remembered. Gamora tried a plate of what Terrans called 'spaghetti' and shared it with Maia. They devoured the meal in only minutes. Poor Groot, being a infantilized tree, could only drink water. However, the trio snuck him a milkshake. So, yeah; they had a pretty awesome day. However, it was getting late and they knew they had to return to the hotel.

Their suite was beautiful, appearing more of a penthouse than a suite. The kitchen was connected to the main entrance. Although there was no food stored in the cabinets or refrigerator, the kitchen was filled with all of the cooking and dining utensils you could think of. A circular metal table sat next to kitchen, surrounded by six chairs that matched it. The living room sat behind the kitchen. Four bar stools occupied the small breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. The living room was occupied by two large, grey couches and a wide holographic screen to finished it off. A small balcony was attached to the end of the living room. It had a beautiful view of the scenery that surrounded the town. Finally, there were rooms on all four corners of the suite.

Groot, who was sitting on Peter's shoulder, hopped down and ran across the suite into one of the regular bedrooms. Gamora, Peter and Maia made their way to the master bedroom. A king-sized contemporary bed was placed in the middle of the room. The frame was black and cushioned and the pinched, pleated bedding was as white as the snow on Contraxia. Two white, contemporary nightstands sat on both sides of the bed. On the right side of the bed was the door to a large bathroom and a cream recamier couch with a slanted backing sat right next to the entrance.

The trio looked at the room in awe. Maia giggled and jumped onto the bed, putting wrinkles in the comforter and messing up the perfectly positioned pillows. She bounced up and down for a few moments before throwing herself back and stretching out her body on the bed. Her parent figures looked at her with broad smiles. The only time she saw Gamora smile that much was when she was excited or happy. She wondered why Gamora didn't smile more often and it upset her.

Peter took a deep breath and placed his hands on his hips. "So, who's gonna sleep where?" He asked, taking his eyes off of Maia and focusing them on Gamora.

"I can sleep on the couch. You and Maia can share the bed." She replied, not taking her eyes off of Maia.

The young girl jerked up and turned herself towards the two adults. "There's enough room for all of us on the bed! We could all sleep on it!"

Peter sat next to Maia and tittered, tousling her hair. "That's really sweet Maia, but it'd be a little too crowded for all of us to fit."

"Then, you guys can sleep in it! I can sleep on the couch." Hazel eyes met brown as Peter and Gamora looked at each other with wide-eyes.

Peter put a hand through his unkempt, curly hair and tried to hide the embarrassment burning his cheeks. "Listen, Maia, that's really sweet, too, but it's better off if me or Gamora sleep on the couch."

Maia knew of the duo's unspoken thing and wanted to help them make it spoken. However, she felt she wasn't helping much. She bowed her head and sighed in defeat. "Okay."

The half-Terran man tousled her hair again and gave her a small hug. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a loud knock on the suite's door. It was followed by a loud _'OPEN THE DOOR, ASSHOLES!'_. Peter rolled his eyes at the sound of Rocket's voice. He exchanged a look of irritation with Gamora before turning back to Maia. "We'll be right back, okay? Go get ready for bed, Kiddo." The young girl smiled, grabbed a pair of pajamas from Gamora's traveling bag and ran into the bathroom.

* * *

In the kitchen, Rocket and Drax were laughing loudly and obviously drunk. Groot stood on the table, shaking his head at them like a disappointed parent. When Peter and Gamora walked in from their room, Rocket laughed even harder. The two raised an eyebrow at him, while passed out on the ground, causing Rocket to laugh as hard as he possibly could. A worried Groot hopped off the table and stood over Drax to make sure he was okay.

The emerald woman crossed her arms and glared at Rocket. "What is so funny, Rocket?"

"He's drunk." Peter whispered to her. Gamora rolled her eyes at his obvious statement.

"You two-" The raccoon broke into laughter again, hardly able to finish his sentence. "Were you-" He pointed to the room that the duo had exited from. "Did you-"

Knowing what he was trying to ask, Gamora's cheeks turned a darker shade of green. "No, Rocket, we were not." She said through her teeth.

"Sure, Gams." He winked at her and started to laugh again. Maia walked out of the room in a lavender, long-sleeve nightgown with Teeka in her arms. "No frickin' way!" Rocket looked at Maia with wide-eyes. "Did you guys-with her in there?!"

"ROCKET!" Peter stage-whispered, his hands balled into fists. Gamora was already on him, grabbing him by his neck and pinning him up against the wall. Peter, afraid of Maia seeing Gamora that way, whipped his head around to see that she was already fiddling with the remote to the holographic screen, oblivious to what was happening in the kitchen.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" The woman whispered through her teeth. "I swear to God, you ever assume something like that again, I will skin you alive! Do you understand me?!"

The raccoon looked at her with wide-eyes before bursting out into laughter again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just can't take you seriously right now!" He continued to laugh as Gamora released him and shook with rage.

"I need to take a walk." She pushed Rocket aside to grab her jacket off of one of the chairs and opened the automatic door. As it closed behind her, Peter grabbed his own jacket and followed behind her, glaring at Rocket on his way out.

* * *

"Wait, Gamora!" Peter yelled, trying to catch up to that said woman, who was speed-walking out of the hotel. "Slow down!" She didn't listen to him and sped up. Before she could go any farther, Peter grabbed her arm. "Hey!"

"Peter, let me go!" She growled, trying to avoid eye contact. His grip on her tightened as she tried to fight her way out of it. He grabbed her other arm and held them between their chests. "Let me go!"

"Stop!" He growled back. He forcefully pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her. She stood there for a moment in shook, slowly returning the gesture. "Don't let him get to you, Gamora. He always becomes an extra dick when he's drunk."

The emerald woman pulled out of his embrace and crossed her arms over her chest. "He's an ass, no matter what." She continued to try to avoid contact with him. "And he went too far. Not only did he think that we-" Peter nodded, understanding her point. "He also thought that Maia was in there with us. What kind of screwed up mind would ever _think_ that?"

Her leader shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know. That was messed up." He looked down at her, seeing that she was still upset and trying to avoid eye contact. "Hey, look at me." He said in his soft, deep, raspy voice that he only used when he was talking to her. She finally made eye contact with him. "Let's walk to the pond." She nodded as they started to walk towards the pond.

The first few minutes was nothing, but silence. Peter couldn't stand it and decided to say something. "How's Maia's training coming along?"

"She's definitely improving that's for sure. I found out she works best with a blaster."

Peter chuckled and popped the collar of his jacket. "She learned that from me." Gamora rolled her eyes playfully at him. "She really idolizes you, you know that, right? A few days ago, she told me she wants to be like you when she gets older."

Gamora scoffed. "An assassin? A murderer?"

"A hero." Peter corrected. "You know the badass ones who kick ass, but sometimes have a little fun. Do some good, some bad and a bit of both, at times?" Gamora chuckled at that.

"I never told her what I did." Peter curiously looked at her. "I only told her that Thanos made me do bad things that I didn't want to do." The man gave her a sympathetic look.

"Well," He said, returning his attention to where he was going. "Eventually, she's gonna find out."

"I know, but-"

"And she will understand. She know's we've all been through hell. She know's we've all done shit that we were forced to do that we didn't want to." He interrupted and stopped walking since they had reached the pond.

It was beautiful. The bright light from the stars shone down on the water reflecting themselves. A forest sat behind it, filled with hundreds of trees. One of the trees, stronger and taller than the rest, held two stands of rope connected to a plank of wood and another strand by itself, hanging down close to the pond. Peter walked to over to the tree and patted the plank of wood. "Here, sit."

Gamora smiled softly and shook her head, but did as she was told. "Aren't we a little old to be playing on a swing, Peter?"

The man chuckled and pulled the swing back after Gamora sat down. He pushed her forward and continued to lightly push her as the swing traveled back to him. "Nah. My mom always swung with me when I was younger."

Gamora let out a short exhale amused. "That's different. The last time I've been on a swing was before Thanos destroyed my homeworld. I forgot how relaxing it feels."

"Well, now you get to remember." Gamora nodded in agreement, smiling softly.

There was a moment of silence as the two of them looked up at the stars. "Peter? Have you ever thought about what it would be like if we all went our separate ways?" Her voice was almost inaudible as if she hoped he wouldn't be able to hear her; only he did.

"No, why would I think that? We might argue a lot, but we're still family."

"I never said we weren't, but would it be better if we did?" The man scoffed in disbelief. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but, to be completely honest Peter, we all have different goals. Different interests. Maybe...maybe it would be better if we went our separate ways."

"Gamora, what the hell are you talking about?! Why are you even bringing this up? Wait...are you thinking about leaving?" The pace of the swing began to slow down as Peter stopped pushing it.

"Yes. No. I-I really don't know. Maybe?" She took a deep breath and watched as Peter walked in front of her.

The man put his hands on the seat beside both of Gamora's hips, stopping the swing. He stared into her brown eyes with frustration boiling throughout him. "Why?! Why would you ever-"

Gamora returned the gesture as she stared into his hazel eyes. "I-" She tried to interrupt him, but he kept talking.

"God, Gamora!" He took a deep breath. "You-you can't just leave! We need you. Maia needs you." His voice got softer. " _I_ need you..." The woman tried to say something again, but Peter continued. "You keep everyone in the right state of mind. You make sure we don't do anything idiotic. Maia-Maia looks at you like you're her mother, Gamora. You can't leave _her_. You're too important to this team; to all of us."

The woman shook her head. "It's not that simple, Peter. If Thanos finds out I'm with you guys,-"

"We beat the shit outta him. We aren't going anywhere. Your battles are now our battles. I don't say this much, but...I care too much about you to see you leave."

Their faces were so close, their lips only centimeters away from each other. Peter's grip on the swing loosened and his hands slid up the ropes. He felt Gamora's hands and gently put his over them. He didn't close the space between them, knowing how afraid Gamora is of love. He wanted her to make the first move to make sure she was comfortable. She couldn't stop looking as his lips; they were so close to hers, but she couldn't.

She got off the swing, gently pushing him out of her way and cleared her throat. "We should...um...get going..." She turned towards the path of the hotel and started walking.

* * *

The next day, the team decided to make a quick stop at the pond before leaving. Drax and Peter automatically jumped in, creating a huge splash. Rocket put his feet in the water, while Groot carefully climbed in. Gamora finished putting Maia's hair up into a ponytail and told her to go play.

The young girl giggled, but stopped at the edge of the water. "What's up, Maia?" Peter called out to her in the middle of the pond. He swam over towards her.

"I haven't swimmed in a pond before." She admitted, rubbing her arm.

"Do you even know how to swim?" He asked, getting out of the water. She nodded and looked at the water curiously. "It's pretty warm." He walked over to the single rope that was hanging on the tree. There was a small knot on the end. He smiled and gestured for her to follow him. "Do you know what this is?" Maia shook her head. "It's a rope swing." He climbed onto it and stood on the knot. "See, you stand on the knot, push yourself and when you're ready-" He demonstrated as he explained how the rope swing worked and let go as it reached the pond. "You let go, when it get's near the water." He finished as he came out of the water.

"What if I drown?" She asked nervously.

"You won't I promise." She hesitantly mimicked what he did and let go after a few seconds of swinging back and forth. She hit the water, creating a much smaller splash than Peter and Drax.

"She has taken the dare!" Drax yelled. He guffawed and cheered as she popped out from the water. "YES!"

"I did it!" She exclaimed, swimming towards Peter. He gave her a high five.

Rocket looked at them with a small smile creeping on his face. He connected Peter's Walkman to the speakers that he had fixed. The melody of _'Don't Stop Me Now'_ filled the air, while the Guardians took time to finally relax.

"Gamora! Come and join us! The water is pleasant!" Drax yelled.

The woman shook her head. "I'm fine right here!" She yelled back.

Little did she know, Peter learned a few things from her. He snuck up behind her, picked her up bridal style and jumped into the pond with her in his arms. Maia almost got a mouthful of water as she let out a huge belly laugh.

"Peter! I'm going to kill you!" She yelled at that said man. Peter chuckled, unaware of the large splash coming his way. After getting splashed in the face, he chuckled darkly and splashed the emerald woman back. For several minutes, they had a splashing war.

He didn't notice how close they got, until they stopped splashing each other. He smiled at Gamora's rare laugh and watched as she pulled her soaked braid over her shoulder. "You're finally relaxing, huh?" He whispered. She playfully raised an eyebrow and splashed him again. They both laughed and Peter watched as she finally got out of the pond. Peter never thought Gamora could be so childish, but she was finally relaxing and that relieved him.

The emerald woman looked at her surroundings: Maia jumping off the rope swing, Peter and Drax cheering her on, Rocket sitting back on the grass with his feet in the water, while supervising Groot. She saw Maia on Peter's shoulders, being gently thrown into the water and tossed back and forth to Drax. She saw Groot occasionally swimming too far away from Rocket and forcing the raccoon to fall in after him. Gamora giggled and sighed. This was her family; her sometimes annoying, occasionally bitchy and almost always supportive family. Thanos will never take them away from her...never...


End file.
